Demographics

Jinjiang is known for the large number of foreign-invested factories which operate there, especially clothing and name-brand footwear. Despite appalling sweatshop conditions, many migrant labourers come from around and even outside the province to commit themselves to year-long contracts.

Jinjiang people speak the Quanzhou variant of Minnan dialect which is intelligible with Xiamen or Taiwan's variant. Like everywhere in China, Jinjiang people use Mandarin to communicate with non local people, commerce and during their daily life.

Jinjiang is the site of the Quanzhou Airport, a gift from Lai Changxing (see below). The facility is of international standard but is kept domestic because the province has been allotted only two international airports, one in the capital Fuzhou and one in nearby Xiamen.

Jinjiang in the News

Jinjiang's most infamous son is undoubtedly Lai Changxing who has been described by the official Xinhua news agency as "China's most wanted fugitive". Lai was a major player in the Xiamen-centred Yuanhua corruption and smuggling scandal which broke in 1999. Tipped off by China's central police leadership, Lai fled to Canada on fake Hong KongSAR documents with his wife Zeng (often Tsang) Mingna and their children. He was eventually detained on Canadian immigration charges and put under house arrest at his home in Burnaby, British Columbia.